Croydon Council plans to pay businesses in the Crystal Palace Triangle £600-a-year to "rent" their toilets to the public.

The move would mean new WCs would not have to be installed in an area where people have struggled to spend a penny.

The idea is set to be piloted next year and is based on a model which is currently used in Richmond.

It will mean shoppers, football fans, children and families will be forced to go into cafés, pubs, shops and other premises when they are caught short.

Residents and businesses have been campaigning for a new public toilet in the area since one in the Phoenix Centre was closed. It was plagued by vandals, drug addicts and drunks.

When Jon Rouse was appointed chief executive of Croydon Council in July, he told the Croydon Guardian this would be one of his first priorities.

The town hall will pay businesses a sum of money to help with "maintenance and cleansing costs" in exchange for allowing people to use the facilities.

The businesses chosen for the scheme will be selected on a first come-first served basis.

Amber Rusk, district centre manager for Norbury and Upper Norwood, said: "This is a solution we are working on as an interim measure. Some businesses in the area are already letting people use their toilets and it is a good way for people to know that businesses with a sign in their door are available."

But Councillor Pat Ryan said it was "another example of a lack of understanding by the council."

He said: "I just don't really understand this logic at all. We have been campaigning to get toilets up here for the last two years and now people are going to have to trawl into pubs and restaurants to use toilets.

"Surely it is just going to attract all sorts of undesirables into the places up here and I feel it is totally irresponsible."

A council spokesman said: "It's a system that works in Richmond and one that's being considered in Croydon. But, at the moment, that's all it is - a proposal.

"Nothing has yet been agreed, including the sum mentioned."